Even though a social-media campaign to get Allhiser a meeting with Lady Gaga didn't work out, he still called the show "the best experience I've ever had."

"I broke up. It was heartwarming because I didn't think they would honor something that weird," Allhiser said. "They didn't have to do that — and they're not just doing it for me. They're doing other people's wishes, too."

As you wish

For the last two years, the staff at Wesley, headquartered in Warminster, has been granting the wishes of senior residents across its six retirement communities in the Philadelphia area under a program called WEL (Wesley Enhanced Living) Wishes.

"We want our residents to wake up with purpose and look forward to their day," said Lisa Haino, director of marketing for Wesley. "Just because you're aging doesn't mean you stop living."

Have you or someone you know helped to make a loved one's bucket list item a reality? Tell us about it. Send your name, location, and experience to farrs@phillynews.com.

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Wish recipients are typically nominated by staffers, who listen closely for hints while talking with residents. The seniors can also apply to have their wishes fulfilled.

"Everybody has a story, but sometimes you get so wrapped up in the everyday you don't really think about what that is," Haino said. "But then they come up with these wishes and they're really inspiring. You see the talents they have and we get to learn about the residents' background."

The wishes have ranged from those so heart-pounding they require a doctor's clearance, like skydiving or a trip to Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary, to the small but immeasurably meaningful.

One 91-year-old resident dreamed of showing his watercolor paintings at an art show, so the staff hung up his work and hosted a black-tie opening. Lionel Croll, 94, dreamed of singing opera, so the staff arranged for him to do a public performance with a professional opera singer.

And then there was 99-year-old Nettie Weiss, whose wish was simply to get her ears pierced again, so that on her 100th birthday she could wear a pair of earrings her husband had given her before he died.

It is a challenge faced by many retirees — and many retirement communities.

"I think a program like this is fantastic; to be able to fulfill simple goals or wishes is great," Galluzzi said.

Sometimes, the staff has to get creative. At a recent town hall at Wesley's Germantown facility, Delores Salamone, 82, said she wanted to go to Sicily, the homeland of her father's family.

But a trip to Sicily was not in the WEL Wishes budget. So last week, the staff improvised. They got a virtual reality headset and downloaded 360-degree YouTube videos of Sicily.

YONG KIM / Staff Photographer

Wesley Enhanced Living resident 82-year-old Delores Salamone points out landmarks while using a virtual reality headset to visit Sicily with Richard Tessmer, who was touring Wesley last week.

"Oh wow! This is beautiful. … There's the sun shining on the sea," Salamone said as she took the virtual tour, pointing at what only she could see. "Now we're back in town. … They got graffiti in Sicily?! … There's a Coke machine. Can you believe that? … Hey, this looks like the Italian Market on Ninth Street!"

After her tour, the culinary crew prepared a Sicilian meal for Salamone and an Italian opera singer serenaded her. She seemed equally flattered and embarrassed by the attention.

YONG KIM / Staff Photographer

Wesley Enhanced Living resident Delores Salamone watches a Sicilian meal prepared by chef Christopher Ferrigno as part of her WEL Wishes dream to experience Sicily.

But above all, she smiled — a lot — that day.

‘They blew my mind’

While other bucket-list wish programs exist for seniors across the country, Haino said Wesley's program wasn't based on another model. It is unusual in that it allows people an unlimited number of wishes.

"They blew my mind —and then the following year they blew my mind again," Grun said of the staff who helped grant his wishes.

Wesley Enhanced Living

Through the WEL Wishes program at Wesley Enhanced Living, resident Bill Grun, 98, fulfilled one of his lifelong wishes — to operate heavy construction equipment — at Diggerland Construction Theme Park in West Berlin, N.J.

Grun, who taught industrial arts for 33 years, still teaches Sunday school and a summer woodworking class, and is an avid reader. He said "it's embarrassing" that people think what he does is exceptional just because of his age.

"There are an awful lot of people who never set goals for themselves. They come here to wait for the undertaker," he said. "But I think he's way off."

Grun said he feels "so blessed" that Wesley keeps finding ways to help him fulfill his wildest dreams.

And he's already planning his next wish — to retake a college-level calculus course, just to prove he can still do it.